Position: Protection Assistant
Duty Station: Boa Vista, Brazil
Start Date: Immediate Start
Contract Duration: Until 31 December 2018, with possibility of extension
Posting Period: 14th october, 2018
1. GENERAL BACKGROUND
The deterioration in the security, political and socio economic situation in Venezuela continue to bring thousands of Venezuelans to seek protection in other countries with 99,000 asylum seekers registered from 2014-2017 mostly in Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain and the US while many other have migrated through legal path with different migration status. While there are no reliable figures for the number of Venezuelans in neighbouring countries, estimates range from a few hundred thousand to
two million persons.
To step up a response to the ongoing arrival of Venezuelans, UNHCR has strengthened its presence in border areas of neighbouring countries to better provide basic humanitarian assistance including through multi-purpose cash grants, and to support government registration, documentation and RSD processed as advocating for alternative legal pathways with protection safeguards.
In May 2017, UNHCR fielded an advance preparedness mission from its HQ to Brazil, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago, the three countries bordering Venezuela that have been receiving a constant flow of new arrivals. USD 2.9 million was allocated to respond to the situation from UNHCR’s Operational reserve.
UNHCR has established presence in Roraima (Boa Vista) and in Amazonas (Manaus) on 12 June 2017 through the creation of Field Units. The Head of Field Unit is supported by national colleagues in Protection, Administration, Programme, Supply, Shelter Management, SGBV as well as international personnel on ERT missions.
Since March 2018, the Brazilian government has federalized the emergency response and prioritized the voluntary relocation (“interiorization”) of Venezuelans to facilitate greater prospects for integration and to relieve the pressure on the state of Roraima. Since the end of August, the Government has accelerated the interiorization process and substantially increased weekly departures, with the aim of relocating 3,000-5,000 persons by the end of 2018.
In Boa Vista, UNHCR performs multiple functions in relation to interiorization. Interiorization lists are initially constructed through ProGres v4 database and individual information, documentation and vaccinations must be physically verified. All persons lacking any of the required documents are assisted by UNHCR who coordinates with the respective authorities to facilitate prioritized visits. Persons identified and confirmed for interiorization are also relocated to the transit site for pre-departure procedures. At the
same time, as Venezuelans depart the emergency shelter sites, UNHCR coordinates with the authorities to admit vulnerable Venezuelans as new entries into the site. This continuous process will be complemented by the Boa Vista Screening Center, which opened in September 2018, which will streamline several procedures linked to interiorization, including documentation, vaccination and UNHCR registration. For these reasons, there is a need to scale up UNHCR’s staffing and operational capacity as it relates to interiorization.
The Protection Assistant will work under the direct supervision of the Associate Protection Officer. The incumbent will provide functional and administrative support to the protection unit on protection related liaison, correspondence, monitoring, case management and reporting activities. S/he will also support the protection unit in designing a comprehensive protection strategy and in providing quality, timely and effective protection responses to persons of concern.
2. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT
Under the supervision of the Head of Field Unit, the Protection Assistant will be responsible for undertaking the following tasks:
– Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
– Observe and respect protection related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
– Provide functional and administrative support in all protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners.
– Provide functional and administrative support in implementing participatory approaches, needs assessments, monitoring, reporting and case management.
– Support assessments on durable solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
– Facilitate liaison with competent authorities for the issuance of personal and other relevant documents.
– Assist in drafting reports, routine correspondence, updating relevant databases and compiling statistics for the protection unit/section.
3. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Essential
– Completion of secondary school preferably with post-secondary training or certificate in Law, Social Sciences, International Relations or related fields
– Minimum 2 years of relevant job experience
– Good computer skills;
– Excellent knowledge of English, Spanish and local language
Desirable
– Training in basic principles of international protection;
– Experience working in humanitarian settings.
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